A booth-level officer (BLO) in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas who alleged that he was threatened by a man, over a dispute in filling up the enumeration form of a 97-year-old voter, as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, said he was verbally abused and threatened after which he is living in fear.
BLO Deepak Mahato, recounted that the threat came from “a person from the party” after he pointed out the mistake. “He threatened me over phone , there was some mistake in form. The person who threatened me on phone was from party. I have informed my seniors. I think he will understand his fault . I am now in fear,” he said.
The police arrested the accused, identified as Jamirul Islam Molla. He is considered
an active TMC worker at Nazat in Basirhat, who had allegedly threatened the BLO with dire consequences after the nonagenarian’s name was found missing in the voters’ list of 2002, the year when the last SIR was conducted in the State, a senior officer said.
Mahato initially filed a written complaint with the Block Development Officer and later approached the Nazat Police Station, alleging that Molla had threatened him over the phone, the officer said.
“Molla was arrested on Saturday night, and a case has been registered for threatening a government official and obstructing him from performing his duties. The accused has been produced before a Basirhat court,” the officer said.
According to the locals, the accused is close to the TMC panchayat pradhan of the area and was also working as a booth-level agent appointed by the ruling party.
A purported audio clip of the telephonic conversation between Molla and the BLO went viral on social media.
Mahato further alleged that Molla repeatedly pressured him to ensure the 97-year-old voter’s name was added to the electoral roll, and even threatened to vandalise his house and set it on fire. The BLO said he felt threatened and intimidated by the calls, the officer added.
(With inputs from agencies)
